Jay Rerekura: Scams are as old as time. Here’s my advice for avoiding them

It's not just the elderly who can be caught out with scams. Anyone is vulnerable. Photo / NZME

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Facebook is arguably one of the most popular social media platforms in New Zealand, with millions of users.

Depending on who you ask, of course. There are other great contenders that, from what I can gather, appeal to the more youthful demographic. The likes of Insta, Snapchat and the Tikkety Toks come to mind.

While Facebook provides a valuable platform for communication, it has also become a breeding ground for those bloody scammers. Facebook scams in New Zealand have become increasingly common, with scammers targeting users for their personal and financial information.

For a long time, I’ve had a bit of a knack for seeing scams a mile away. Even back in the heyday of snail mail, I remember warning my grandfather off from scams that told him he’d won it big.

My biggest piece of advice to everyone on any kind of scam: if it seems too good to be true, nine times out of 10 it probably is. And I really do get it, because I’m a self-proclaimed optimist.

I see things through rose-tinted lenses also. Everything is awesome!

But good discernment is always key and can save you a bit of heartache also. Once upon a time in a faraway galaxy where there existed a platform called Bebo, a cousin of mine, who shall remain anonymous, met a girl.

Jay Rerekura.

They courted for some time, growing ever so fond of each other. They exchanged photos and phone numbers and spoke almost every day. My cousin was smitten and before too long, and ahead of his time, confessed his undying love and asked for her hand in marriage without ever laying eyes on anything but a series of ones and zeros. Long story short, he was, as we say in the industry, catfished. Catfished before it was even a thing.

Heartbroken and depressed, he stayed with me for a week as we navigated what had happened and talked about ways to guard his heart against the cruel, cruel world of Bebo.

Two weeks later I receive a phone call from him. He was excited, some might say delirious. He spoke at a fast pace and with absolute confidence, “Cousin! Did you know we had a rich uncle in Nigeria?”

I’ll leave the rest to your imagination. But the point is, scams have been around since the early days of Scamiticus Maximus.

Some of us are more vulnerable than others. But still, it bothers me to no end the number of my friends and family who have fallen victim to the evil ways of the scam artist.

Let’s be clear, most are primitive attempts, but there is certainly an art to it if you are that way inclined.

Facebook is my go-to flavour of social media platform, as it is for many of my age group. Scammers are constantly coming up with new and creative ways to target people and it is important for users to remain vigilant to protect themselves from these scams. There are several steps users can take to protect themselves from Facebook scams. The first step is to be aware of the signs of one.

These include messages or posts that sound too good to be true, requests for personal or financial information, and messages or posts that contain poor spelling and grammar.

The second step is to be cautious about clicking on links or downloading attachments from unknown sources. Scammers often use links and attachments to spread malware or gain access to a user’s personal and financial information.

The third and final step is the aforementioned, “If it’s too good to be true, it probably is.” So be safe out there friends and non-friends.

But if you ever see a request from me asking for access to your kina stash, please humour me in your response.